Going into a weekend series with unranked Wisconsin, Iowa softball needs to turn its ship around if the Hawkeyes hope to fare well in the postseason.
Head coach Marla Looper and her squad have slipped into a four-game losing skid — and those losses haven’t been pretty.
A loss to Drake and three losses to a struggling Maryland team demonstrated how quiet the Hawkeye bats have become.
“We got some ground to make up, but that’s just the reality of it,” Looper said. “The hopes and dreams are that we can hopefully flip it around pretty quickly and make up that ground quick.”
In each loss, Iowa has scored at most 2 runs. The team has been slow at the plate all season. The Black and Gold bat .234, good for the third-worst in the conference. They are last in home runs.
“I think we’re right there,” junior Mallory Kilian said. “We’re working on a few little things — adjustments and just picking that right pitch. I think if we just get back to the mindset of attacking the ball and attacking around the strike zone, then we will be more successful.”
Two Hawkeyes have consistently come through in the batter’s box. Kilian and Allie Wood are the only starters hitting above .300 this season.
Looper has addressed the lack of hitting and has made lineup changes throughout the season. Kilian started this year batting third but has since moved up to leadoff.
She has a .450 on-base percentage and is 5-for-5 in stolen bases.
“I think my on-base percentage and just me putting the ball in play was the factor in [the move],” Kilian said. “If it’s first or third or wherever I’m in the lineup, I’m just working to get on base.”
Sophomore Taylor Libby, a catcher, has become the go-to pinch hitter for the Hawkeyes — and she has done her job. She is hitting .333 for Looper with a .404 on-base percentage.
The rest of Iowa’s lineup is seemingly being shuffled. Each of Iowa’s last four losses have seen a different Hawkeye lineup. Each shift follows the lack of hitting before it.
“Making major adjustments, minor adjustments — we have to be comfortable making those adjustments,” Looper said. “A part of human nature is being uncomfortable — changing something is uncomfortable. How do we be OK being uncomfortable? That’s what we get to work on today and every day we step on the practice field.”
Wisconsin will likely see yet another Iowa lineup, but the Hawkeyes will be challenged by another average Big Ten softball team. The Badgers are 16-13 and have a .255 batting average.
Wisconsin will likely put Haley Hestekin and Kaitlyn Menz in the circle. Hestekin has a 1.62 ERA and an 8-4 record, and Menz has a 3.50 ERA and an 8-8 record.
Iowa will likely pitch sophomore pitcher Allison Doocy, who has a 1.34 ERA, at least twice.
